Alex Crooks, Author at Thumb Culture

21Jul

By Alex CrooksNo Comments

LIFTED – PC Review

Time travel meets side scrolling in LIFTED by Adventure Works L.L.C. Originally names "Ari Vuktu and the Anytime Elevator", Lifted is finally coming out with its full release on the Steam store. You may have spotted our preview of the original demo which was full of positivity but does the full game live up to the hype? Up up and away! LIFTED finally reaches the Steam store. Gameplay Imagine Back to the Future but instead of the DeLorean you get have a magical elevator that takes you and your professor to different time periods. That is, essentially, what LIFTED. Ari, the slacker, just wants extra credit so he can pass his classes. Unfortunately for him, Professor Raventhorpe has other plans and needs help with his love life. The controls themselves are exactly what you would expec...

16Jun

By Alex CrooksNo Comments

PlayStation Reviews

Savara – PS5 Review

It's time to please the Warrior God in Doryah Games new release Savara. This new roguelike has launched on Playstation so we grabbed it to see whether it was worth the disk space. You can grab Savara on the Playstation store for £15.99 but is it worth it? Read more to see what we think! If you're looking for other games to also add to your collection, you can read the rest of our Playstation reviews here! Slash your way from room to room Gameplay If you've played one game that belongs to the dungeon crawler genre, then the gameplay mechanics of Savara will be something you're used to. Hack and slash your way through different swarms of enemies until you either reach the end or pop your clogs. It does everything that a game of this genre should do. There is a very quick tutorial ...

12Jun

By Alex CrooksNo Comments

PC Reviews

Thrifty Business – PC Review

Ever wanted to run your own 90s thrift store? Spellgarden Games is here to help with their new launch, Thrifty Business. Buy products, expand your store, and meet a cast of amazing NPCs. The world is your oyster as you expand floor by floor, railing by railing. You can get Thrifty Business on Steam right now for £12.99. An entire business? What a steal! Gameplay Opening up your own thrift shop is surprisingly easy. After a quick tutorial taking you through the basics, Thrifty Business throws you right into it. It allows you to learn at your own pace through expansion and shopping. All in all the gameplay is laid back and allows players to sink into the gradually. Anyone with any level of experience playing games could quite easily pick up Thrifty Business and get right into it. Arr...

Mystery Egg Shop Simulator: Prologue – PC Review

26May

By Alex CrooksNo Comments

Previews & Early Access

Mystery Egg Shop Simulator: Prologue – PC Review

Obsessed with mini figures? Love opening mystery boxes? Rocinante Games is here to fill the hole in your heart when you're just desperate to open a plastic bag and see which figure you get with their new release. Mystery Egg Shop Simulator: Prologue is a long demo of their upcoming release. I played through the Prologue, which you can find on Steam, to see whether this game had high hopes or was going to end up in a back office never to be shelved. Mystery Egg? Don't mind if I do! Gameplay Mystery Egg Shop Simulator features the pretty generic simulator gameplay. Buy things through a shop; unload boxes from a van; stack the shelves with product; cash out customers. It adds another layer to the gameplay with the collectable mini-figures. Similar to the card elements in the game ...

20May

By Alex CrooksNo Comments

PC Reviews

Toll Booth Simulator – PC Review

Ever wondered what it would be like to run a toll booth in the middle of nowhere? Well, now you can with Toll Booth Simulator by SifDev. Currently available on Steam for £10.99, we've decided to give it a go. Check out our other PC reviews here to see whether there's anything else you might be missing out on. Can't go over it, can't go under it.... going to have to go through it and pay the toll Gameplay Imagine if Papers, Please was 3D and you could beat up anyone that tried to get by without paying. That's essentially Toll Booth Simulator. Starting with just a small booth and a massive debt, your day begins with a simple law that you must follow. As things start to develop, the admission rules change and the scope of your job gets a bit more hectic. Toll bridge prices aren't t...

12May

By Alex CrooksNo Comments

PlayStation Reviews

Rival Stars Horse Racing – PS5 Review

They're making their way down the home stretch just in time for Rival Stars Horse Racing to cross the finish line and end up on the Playstation Store. Already available on Desktop, iOS and Android, PikPok is finally launching its horse racing phenomenon onto consoles! Find out what else there is to add to your PS library by checking out our other reviews here! It's the final sprint towards the finish line! Gameplay Rival Stars Horse Racing takes a simple concept and really expands it into a massive game. Upon initially loading the game, it becomes clear quick that this game is not just back to back racing. However, it does so much more than that. The main overarching story is that you are trying to save your family ranch. It needs you to help give it a new lease of life and rebuild...

11May

By Alex CrooksNo Comments

PC Reviews

Rumbral – PC Review

Travel between realities, find your path and uncover the beauty of being alone in Rumbral the new release from OSEA Innovations. We got out hands on the game to try out to see wether the puzzles were brain melting or a walk in the park. Rumbral is currently available on Steam for £12.99. If you're looking for other games to add to your library, you can check out our other reviews here. Let's get ready to Rumbral Gameplay If you have ever played games like Little Nightmares or Limbo, then you'll know exactly what you're getting with Rumbral. The entire world expands to the right alongside a few puzzles. All seems normal at first until the main character comes into contact with some red goo. After stepping into this goo, you are transported to an alternate reality back in time where ...

Resident Evil: The 90s Trilogy – PC Review

7May

By Alex CrooksNo Comments

PC Reviews

Resident Evil: The 90s Trilogy – PC Review

Before there was Requiem and a large collection of remasters, there was the original Resident Evil trilogy. The original 90 releases are now available on Steam. You can grab them for £7.99 each now. Check out our other PC reviews here. Once upon a time, these were some of the most terrifying games that ever existed Gameplay Arguably, the first Resident Evil is one of the most important horror games to come out in the 90s, launching the franchise into the public eye and defining a solid run of horror games. After being sent to investigate strange murders just outside Raccoon City, you can play as either Chris Redfield or Jill Valentine as you explore the horrors of Arklay Mansion. The second installment introduces Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield trying to flee Raccoon City after a ...

6May

By Alex CrooksNo Comments

PC Reviews

Beauty Store Simulator – PC Review

In a world flooded with store simulator games, it can be difficult to make yourself stand out in the crowd. Beauty Store Simulator by NovaraGames sets out to set itself above the rest by including some more diverse mini-games and expansion opportunities. Currently available on Steam for £8.99, I tried out the newest release to see whether it was worth adding to your library. If you're looking for other recommendations you can also check out our entire catalogue of PC reviews here! There are certain things that are a foundation to any simulator game Gameplay As with most shop simulator games, the gameplay in Beauty Store Simulator comes from stocking and selling product. When you first load in you get two shelves and a small selection of the catalogue unlocked. This catalogue grows ...

21Apr

By Alex CrooksNo Comments

Hardware & Tech

Fantech Revolver 3 Controller Review

We've got quite the collection of Fantech reviews building in our catalogue and we've added one to the roster. We've grabbed the Revolver 3 controller to test and compare to other controllers we've tried. You can get the Fantech Revolver 3 here for just £19! Design / Quality The Fantech Revolver 3 is available in three colour varients: black, white and grey. When comparing it to next gen controllers, the build and design is closest to a PS5 controller. It's a solid plastic build with a light up Fantech logo which serves as your bluetooth connection display. It's a sturdy build and has a decent weight to it which makes ut feel like it is really well made. The design has symmetrical sticks making it perfect for the Playstation fans out there. However, when comparing the Revolver 3 to so...